NGO Teach For Ukraine created the “Educational SUPport” program in response to disruption of education caused by full-scale war in Ukraine. Millions of students experienced school closures, displacement, and ongoing interruptions to learning. As a result, many children lost consistent access to qualified teachers, safe learning environments, and peer interaction, leading to significant learning loss and increased stress and anxiety.
At Teach For Ukraine we saw an urgent need for a solution that would help students recover academically while also supporting their emotional well-being. Existing systems were not designed to respond quickly or flexibly to such large-scale and prolonged disruption, especially in frontline and underserved areas. Many teachers also faced challenges: some lost employment due to displacement, others experienced high levels of stress and burnout or lacked skills to provide trauma-informed support in the classroom.
The “Educational SUPport” program addresses these challenges by providing structured, small-group tutoring that combines academic instruction with trauma-informed socio-emotional support. It ensures continuity of learning for students affected by war, while also creating meaningful employment and professional development opportunities for both displaced and local teachers. By designing an adaptable, scalable, and cost-effective model, Teach For Ukraine aims to support both recovery and the long-term resilience of Ukraine’s education system.
Teach For Ukraine's tutoring program connects students (grades 5-10) with tutors online and in-person in groups of 4-5 during 6 1-hour sessions weekly over 6-12 weeks. Each session blends academic and psychosocial support. 25% of session time addresses students' socio-emotional needs through trauma-informed care.
War-driven displacement left many children without consistent schooling or mental health support. Our model tackles both simultaneously: tutors are closing learning gaps through personalized instruction, while serving as mentors for children navigating trauma. A key advantage of this approach is that students receive intensive, short-term support to address learning loss, enabling them to reintegrate smoothly into mainstream education.
A randomized controlled trial, conducted in collaboration with the World Bank with nearly 10 000 students, demonstrated significant impact: students gained the equivalent of 11 to 14 months of instruction in core subjects compared to a control group. The program measurably reduced stress levels. From a 600-student pilot in 2022, the program has since reached 40,000.
The program relies on internet-connected devices for remote delivery and applies an evidence-based, high-dosage small-group tutoring model. Tutor training was co-designed with the International Tutoring Academy of Ukraine, integrating academic content pedagogy with trauma-informed care frameworks making it cost-effective, scalable, and purpose-built for emergency contexts.
Launched in March 2022 as a 600-student pilot, "Educational SUPport" scaled rapidly through a combination of strong evidence, donor support, and a flexible, low-cost delivery model. By 2025, the program had reached over 40,000 students, delivering more than 165,000 free tutoring sessions. Each week, 1,200 live sessions are conducted by trained tutors across war-affected and frontline regions.
Beyond training teachers as tutors, the model builds on Teach For All’s Fellowship approach, adapted based on RCT findings to prioritize high-dosage, small-group tutoring and structured session design. Young professionals are placed in underserved schools, where they deliver targeted catch-up support through extracurricular tutoring.
Teach For Ukraine has also engaged university students as academic mentors, training 1069 young adults who now support children in frontline areas. This innovation creates a dual impact: children gain trusted mentors, while university students become an additional, scalable layer of human capital within the education system and find meaningful purpose in Ukraine’s recovery.
The program will continue expanding into high-need communities, strengthening its participatory model that brings together local and displaced educators, university mentors, students, and families. By combining academic support with trauma-informed care at scale, “Educational SUPport” is designed to serve as a replicable model for education in conflict-affected contexts globally.
According to the World Bank RCT results, “Educational SUPport” program can be easily implemented in different contexts. To adopt this model, follow TFU's proven steps: identify students with greatest learning losses, train tutors in subject knowledge and trauma-informed care, form small groups, and set a regular session schedule. For the full implementation guide, download TFU's free Catch-Up Tutoring Guide and contact the team at edsoup@teachforukraine.org. https://drive.google.com/file/d/15q4SMRP7FYsObcTD0FpjLTcqnzFkIBDI/view
